Report On Cta Crash Hints Crew Error

July 05, 1985|By Gary Washburn, Transportation writer.

A new report on a fatal Chicago Transit Authority train crash last Aug. 17 points to crew error as the probable cause of the accident.

One passenger was killed and more than 40 were injured when a train bound for the Loop came to a stop on an incline and then rolled backward, smashing into a following train parked at the Montrose station on the CTA`s O`Hare rapid transit line.

The report, compiled by four CTA executives, does not directly blame the motorman or conductor of the lead train. However, it notes that the train functioned properly on an earlier run and that tests conducted after the crash ``failed to disclose any defect which would have caused the accident.``

Privately, CTA executives have theorized that the train`s motorman, Joseph Van Buren, stopped the train on the hill after experiencing problems with one of three braking systems on one or two of the train`s eight cars. He then left his cab to try to correct the problems.

Under this theory, Van Buren, possibly with the train`s conductor, turned off ``seven-point`` switches in one or two cars, eliminating the suspected problem, but effectively cutting out a second braking system on those cars at the same time. Post-crash tests showed that when the second braking system was cut out on two cars, an eight-car train would roll down the incline.

Officials speculated that, after the switches were turned off, Van Buren was unable to get back to his cab fast enough to take emergency steps to stop the train.

Investigators after the crash found that the switches in all the cars were in the ``on`` position, but CTA officials believe someone may have turned them back on before they were inspected.

Van Buren and the train`s conductor, Isioda Del Campo, said they did not turn off switches in any of the cars. Van Buren reported that the train experienced problems with one braking system and then lost power on the hill. He told investigators that he left the cab in an effort to correct the braking problem. When the train began to roll, he said he ran back to the cab and went through a series of emergency maneuvers that should have brought it to a stop, but did not.

The official cause of the crash has yet to be determined by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Meanwhile, Van Buren, who was suspended by the CTA for allegedly failing to cooperate with the authority`s investigation into the accident, remains off the payroll. Officials of the Amalgamated Transit Union said he was offered a transfer by the CTA to a janitor`s position but refused. His case now is in arbitration.

The CTA report discloses that, although there was no evidence that equipment failure caused the accident, the authority provided instruction to employees after the crash on brake inspection procedures and safety inspection of cars.

Refresher training also was given to all motormen on proper methods of trouble-shooting when mechanical problems develop during a run. In addition, the CTA plans to put wooden chocks on all rapid transit cars to allow wheels to be blocked if trains must be stopped on hills, the report says.